Foundation Problems

By: Danny Lipford

A major structural problem with your home is probably every homeowner’s worst nightmare. Structural problems left unattended decrease your homes value and only worsen over time.

So if you are seeing signs of foundation problems around your home like cracks in your drywall, or if you have doors that do not open or close properly you probably need to have an evaluation done.

Is your home suffering from foundation problems?

If your home is exhibiting symptoms of foundation problems like cracks in walls, sticking and swinging doors, or uneven floors it may need foundation repair. Experienced professionals can give you an accurate analysis of your home and design a foundation repair solution.

Can you sell your house for a reduced price rather than repair the foundation?

If you are financing the sale yourself, this poses no problem. Loaning institutions generally will not close a loan without repairs being done or scheduled. However, beware as some state laws impose severe penalties for fraudulently concealing a structural problem from a buyer.

Is your home less marketable because you have had the foundation repaired?

Quite the contrary. If the foundation of your home is repaired by a reputable contractor it is considered stronger after the repairs are performed. Therefore, appraisal values will be the same, as if the problem had never developed. If you are planning on selling your home after the foundation repair work is performed the warranty from the contractor and their reputation are more important than ever.

Selecting a reputable contractor to repair you home

Finally, here are some important factors to consider before taking this daunting foundation problem on.

No Contract Labor: Make sure the people performing the repairs work for the company.

Financial Commitment: Does the contractor own or rent his equipment?

Supervisors on Site: Is the company large enough to provide full time supervision, or will the crew be dropped off at your home to do the work?

References: Make sure references are not hand picked.

Warranties: Warranties are only as good as the company that offers them. A reputable company who has been in business for at least 25 years should be your best bet.

188 Comments on “Foundation Problems”

Although this isn’t Q&A forum, just reading through the comments treating it as such almost creates a sort of twisted sense of comfort to me. I, too, have dumped many thousands of dollars into foundation repairs to a home I’d bought close to 20 years ago, and can afford no more home repairs of any sort. It has never ceased being an ongoing situation. Among many problems, I, too, live with warped and buckled floors, cracked walls and ceilings, and window and door problems that I didn’t used to have. Very long story short…I think I will be the victim of a collapsed house some day. The anxiety over this is overwhelming.

My daughter bought a 2007 house last April and in Aug and Sept had wAter in basement and mold. She spent about 20k to fix water and mold problem now still has dampness and seepage in her wood basement. She has 3 kids of which two have slept on floor since Sept which is almost 6 months. Seems she is in area below hill where water from other homes drain, is there anything she can do to get that house condemned? She can’t afford to pour money into it as she already did and not get ahead. Please help!!

Help! My house is falling in. Two years after moving into our home, we started having major foundation problems. Hired a contractor, repaired the foundation. After a reasonable settling time, we repaired the damages. cracks recurred.
We recalled the contractor back out 3 or 4 times. We have a lifetime warranty, but each time they came out they presented a new set of problems. The most major, a water leak that went undetected for over a year. Water from the shower was draining directly under the house because the pipes were broken when the house was jacked up. Cracks were so bad the studs were visible. After seeing that we were not getting a resolution, we called in a second contractor. We were assured the problem could be repaired . They explained that they would shoot in a mixture of concrete & mud under the house after leveling it up and there would be no more problems. There were. And they would not come back out to look it over. There was never a time when we felt like settling had occurred so repairs have not been made and new cracks began to appear. Now it looks like the house is falling in. Every room is affected. the concrete in the kitchen is cracked so bad that it had caused major wrinkles in the flooring. (Linoleum). We have sunk quite a bit of money in the house. It is in reverse mortgage and my obligation is to keep the house in good repair. There is no way I can afford it. My husband and I are 78 and 83 and live on social security. Because of all the money we have had to put into the house, we have used all our savings and have had to file bankruptcy. We did hire an attorney but were told that there were so many loopholes in the contract that there was no way we could win. Any suggestions short of bulldozing?

I am selling my house which i have lived in for 15 years. when i bought the house it had already been made open plan thats why i bought it. The new buyers say they require an Architect certificate. I think the work was done over 20 years ago. why would they now need this. is it a very expensive cost to me.

Thirty years ago a tree at the corner of my house was cut down. I have found cracks in the walls of the room next to that tree and cracks in the tub tile and floor tile of the bathroom. There are two small holes in the ground close to where the tree was. One is about 4″ in diameter and other other about 3″. There was a hole that ran under the patio that I decided to fill with concrete. I think there is a cavity, maybe several, under the house where the roots have disintegrated. If this is true, what can I do.

I love in Australia in a brick and mortar house. While renovating my bathroom today I have removed the old tiles and found that there is no foundation underneath! The toilet was sitting on top of bricks while the shower was just on a level of thin screed. It’s a wonder I have not yet seen significant issues with the house yet as it is about 40 years old. Now I have to look at getting new concrete slab poured. This reno just got a whole lot more expensive!

my house is about 15 years old, and it’s a single floor.Now i want to extent to up stair, but there is a problem ,inside some cracks are appears in ceiling also my foundation is made with stone and mud cement is used only for plastering, so is it safe for extension works

We have made an offer and it has been accepted on a 30 year old modified A-Frame with walk out basement, that sits above flood plain on the Mississippi River. It has been completely remodeled in the past 5 years. The soil is almost pure sand. To look at the house, you would think it was a brand new home, inside and out. After the offer was accepted, we learned the home has a wooden foundation. I had never even heard of that. The basement is completely finished and there is no are where you can visually inspect foundation, without tearing up the interior walls, other than maybe in a closet. Should I demand an intrusive or destructive inspection before signing on the dotted line?All walls and floors are level, no signs of any problems whatsoever. I since have learned that there are several other homes in the area with the same foundations, with no problems. Most were built in the early 80’s. Any input would be appreciated.

I need foundation repair on my house. It’s really bad, but I don’t have money I just can’t afford it. Please help I have no other place to live. We are retired and been leaving in this house 16 years. I’m afraid the house will just crumble on us one day…

my home is built on a raised slab foundation about 5′ at it’s highest point. I have an unusual smell on the front of the house. Sometimes it smells like it is coming from the bathrooms but, it also smell like it is coming from the vents (ceiling). I don’t smell it in the kitchen or the living room, which are on the backside of the house Help ME!! the smell is getting worse.

We are building a new home and stopped by to see its progress. The foundation is poured and framing is up. All the plumbing is in the wrong locations. The builder said he will have to dig up the foundation to move the plumbing. Will this affect the structural integrity of the home? Should we demand some sort of compensation for this? Please help! We do not know what our rights are where this major error has occurred. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Last year I purchased a home built in 1945. I noticed before buying the house that there were some cracks located on the brick outside in a couple places one section of the house. When I asked about them, the realtor said that it had all passed inspection and no structural damage was found. Now I have lived in this home for a little over a year and Im very sure that there is no way there could have been no damage. The area by the front door has dropped and cracks have formed both downstairs and upstairs in the same area and its easy to see after checking it out closely, that a section of the front of the house is sagging. Im looking to get some free estimates but I am in no position to have the money for repair anytime soon and don’t know the severity of the problem and if can be put off for a while or is it in need of immediate attention. not sure what to do at this point and any advice would be appreciated

I have purchase a home in San Jose, California built in the 1920. There are some foundation problems in one corner of the home crack in the foundations. There are no cracks in the room in the house. What are the different whys I could address these issues.

I live in a tri-level home and noticed that the house is shifting to one side. The home is 25 years old and is a track home. We cannot use the front door because it is hard to open or close. I recently had some dry wall repairs by a contractor and noticed the deep cracks are back again. Our house is the only house on the block that has this problem. Should I be concerned about the being on a sink hole?

I have a concrete foundation. After recently removing the carpet, I see that onthe outside walls, the concrete foundation has cracked all the way around at about 6 inches inside the wall. Is this a problem for the foundation?

After reading so many posts above, I wanna share our story with you all. My husband and I bought our ranch in Wylie TX. We came from east Coast, did not know anything about foundation issues in TX until the purchase of the house. My husband moved in one month after closing, then he noticed that the floor is not even (laminate floor), we spoke to the seller and our agent (our agent and the seller’s agent work for the same broker, and the house has not been listed before our agent showed us the property- sounds familiar to some sad stories here?), then the seller told us that they FORGOT to tell us that foundation work had been done a few years back. So clearly, the two agents, inspector and the seller together had played and cheated my husband (I was not in the buying process due to work). So we contacted attorney for sending demand letter to the seller and the agents asking for foundation repair money, and also complaint on TREC about the inspector (many obvious signs showing foundation issue, he did not mention anything about it in his report) and our agent (as an experienced agent, he knew the problem but did not want us to know). The estimate cost is $15K, we have received $4K from the seller (they moved out state, it was a pleasant surprise that they even entertained the demand letter), still waiting for TREC about inspector and agents, we are hopeful. A friend experienced similar situation and complained with TREC, got paid $45K after 4-year waiting.

So please protect yourself legally if you believe that seller or agent lied to you on serious issues.

Hello and thank you for your time!
I am wanting to buy my dream home in Virginia, but one side of the house has a sloping floor that exists all the way across the house (front to back) on both the first and second floor. It is noticeable as you are walking that it dips a good inch and a half. There is a finished basement, but there are no cracks in the outside foundation or walls. What are my options going forward with this home? If an inspector or engineer does come out before I buy can they tell anything without busting into some drywall or something? I really don’t want to give up on this home. Help! Thank you!

My house was built in 2003, I purchased it in Nov. 09, was a shoddy deal I found out later, the realtor is friends with the woman in Escrow, her son was the flipper seller, lender (he sold it to chase a few days later). Anyway in the past year and 1/2 weird issues have arisen, found several roof tiles had either been pulled down a few inches but all lined up from top to almost bottom, living room ceiling seams are cracking, now several different areas are buckling. I can’t afford to have the pipes checked, someone said it runs about $4-5k to run a camera thru them under foundation. I do have terrible drainage on one side ( good ole caliche soil ) so added rain gutters to that side of house. I want to sell but can’t afford this type of repairs as am a disabled Vet. HELP!

We’re looking to buy a house built in 1971. We will have it inspected by a pro. However, the neighbor pointed out to us major cracks on all sides of the foundation of the unattached garage. He says that water from the gutters for years has been eroding the ground under the garage foundation, and that the cracks are from the foundation slipping (it is at the top of a small hill). He claims the back half of the garage has moved about 1 1/2 inches down in the last year and a half. Could this be the case, or could it just be the mortar in the breaks breaking down after 40 some years?

hi I have a 20 plus year old home I live in Texas. I noticed a crack along the foundation in the front of the house. I’m noticing nothing in the bricks not any cracks in the house or hard to close doors or windows that I know of. Is this a foundation problem and what should I do? thanks

I bought a condo 4 years ago, my foundation from the laundry room to the kitchen is cracked down the center, can I get the builder to repair. I would like to sell but can I sell at a lower price or should I pay to get the foundation repaired myself, I really don’t have the funds to repair the cracked foundation.

I am interested in buying a 1940’s Cabin that has about 20 pillars that hold up the foundation and some have crumbled. The price of the cabin is right, and I haven’t gotten an inspector in there yet, just going on what the realtor is telling me. But I am interested if this can be suitably repaired and about what kind of cost I am looking at.

I have a house that is about 46 years old. I am planning on recarpeting the finished basement floor and have 6 floor vents around the perimeter of the room about 12 inches from the wall. These are non-HVAC vents and i really dont see what purpose they serve. Can anyone tell my if they are some type of vent system for under the poured floor? Are they allowing radon into my house? Can i seal them off and floor over them?
Thank you

We had a home inspection on a house we plan to get. This inspection was done before we even saw the house.. It says there is a faulty grade water that the water flows towards the house instead of away. I have asked my realtor for an additional inspection to check the problem out and to see how bad and how much it would end up costing. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the topic but the doors (front and back) apparently have to be fixed. I am unaware of why.

Hi, I am going to build a cottage onto my son house, it will be on the first level with a double garage at the bottom. What I would like to know is how wide and deep must my trench be and how thick shall I cast my foundation concrete? What strength shall I mix it to.

My husband and I purchased a raised ranch-style home back in 2008. It was built in 1965. We live in Upstate New York which is known for the really cold winters. This year, the average temperature for February alone was 7.2 degrees.

Our daughter has the bedroom in the corner of the front of the house and has two windows, one in the front of the house and one on the side of the house. Two diagonal cracks have appeared on the top left-hand side and the bottom right-hand side of the front window and one huge diagonal crack has appear on the top right-hand side of the side window. That crack has started to extend across the ceiling. I’m not sure whether this is covered under our homeowners insurance or how much correcting the damage is going to cost us. I am going to assume we should probably consider applying for a loan. Any feedback you can provide would be greatly appreciated!!

We just purchased a home four months ago. The original part of the home was built in 1966 (ranch style) and the second floor addition approximately 8 years ago. No one lived in the 2nd floor addition. We had a home inspection done by 2 engineers (they were here almost 6 hours) and also had the city out to approve/ sign off on the construction on the second floor because there was a curve in the floor. We were told that it was nothing to worry about. Everything was fine. Fast forward four months- our furniture is upstairs- and a couple weeks ago we noticed that two of the bedroom doors upstairs no longer lock/ shut properly (it has moved)- we also noticed a crack down the wall upstairs and a small hairline crack on the ceiling downstairs by the steps. Today we noticed another large crack in the upstairs ceiling and a couple windows upstairs have spider cracks in them. All of this has caused us to probe into what is happening more. We noticed the baseboard is so slightly off the floor and some cracks in the corner walls of the room. What are we looking at? We were told there were no issues with the foundation. Is the house settling? Foundation? Please help! – First Time Home Buyer- scared and sad-

We purchased our home 30 years ago, the den was an add-on done by the previous owner. The house was built in the 50’s with total renovations done after hurricane Katrina. The house is on a slab, the laminate floors were not replaced after having Chinese drywall renovations. Can I put a concrete floor over the laminate, can you tell me someone who does the work?

My home less than a month old. It has a crawl space. When my dogs run past kitchen island the house shakes. several cracks already found i kitchen. The contractor said. “The house is engineered for the kitchen to shake. He said ” add blue tape to all the cracks and he will come over to patch. What do you think.

I bought my 1951 house back in May this year. The home inspector did not point certain things about my house. After moving in, I realized why the real estate agent recommended this guy. I believe my agent was working for the seller agent. The walk thru’s were rushed and of course me being the first time home buyer, I did not notice some things in which the inspector should have pointed out to me. I had only limited time in the house due to time constraints of the Seller.

After moving in the house I had notice that walls, ceilings, and foundation walls have cracks. All my beams including the main beam have cracks. During the inspection the inspector took about 5 minutes to inspect the basement and 10 minutes to inspect the rest of the house . My floors are shifting currently and seem warped and uneven. My third bedroom section of the house is sinking. I had to put a temporary beam up to hold one portion of the floor on one side of the house to stop it from sinking. My guess would be the foundation is shifting. But when you check, it’s level. It almost seems like all of the beams are splitting off of the points of connection under the floor. During a walk thru this would not be noticed by and a first time buyer. Now of course, I know what to look for next time and should this have been pointed out during the inspection.

Its gets better, who verifies the oil tank gauge during final walk thru. I checked it by pushing it down with the cover off the first time going thru. The final walk thru just look at it and it look like a half a tank like the first time. The third day, after moving in, I ran out of oil. I went and checked the gauge and found out the gauge red disk was glued to the gauge housing and the tank was empty. I paid for 1/2 tank of air. My real estate agent was the one that verified oil level for the seller.

My husband and I, bought our house back in August 19,2013. The house was build in 1958. The Structure looks like they just did a repair and update. They did one roof, left the other side not finished. We looked around did not find any mishap. It looks great we thought. The best part, is that land is big enough for our 5 little booches, an 18,000 square foot space. The agent told us the proprty was sell as is. We ask him what exactly he meant by as is. He said there is a little spot on the roof its not finished plus the floor needs new carpet. we looked at the roof and we saw like patches of shingles were patched together and the rest of the roof was like the front. We told him we don’t mind fixing the roof and of course the floor always needs to changed carpeting. But we decided to use ceramic tiles. Here comes the part when we stripped the whole floor. one side of the corner was sunk, the middle of the living was like a slope hill. the floor was cracking in different direction, as we were fixing the roof it turned out to be the whole roof needs fixing, slowly the house got on fire, we went requested all the copies of the escrow paper, there were some documents we never saw when the agent dropped off all the papers. We the disclosure paper he gave us was the California but not the disclosure inspection we paid for. A year later the house got on fire, we discovered all the documents from the inspections plus the value on the property was $28,000.00 we paid $97,000.00 cash. We are first time home owner don’t know much but trusted the company and the agent. Inspection paper stated not to close escrow until problem fix. If we seen that the first place we would never consider buy the place. We specifically told the agent were looking for a home to move in and to enjoy not a house to build. turned out the was has no blue print or plan to start building cost more nightmare beside a cracking floor. The agent lied to us that this barely listed on the market, we should look at it. And this was a long journey of looking for that dream home since June 2013 into August 2013 we almost call it a day and go to another city, and thats when he said property just put on 15 minutes ago we should go looked at it, we went it was almost dusk in the evening, we thought this place is better than some of the house we seen. To top it off We were kind enough kind enough to trust him and lend him $2,000.00 never yet pay back. The house was never on the market because of the conditions, the neighbors were surprise and told us the house been trying to sell for a year. People come looked at it and never came back beside us. Help, where do we begin. were new at this at the same time learning.

I live in a double wide manufactured home. The home was built in 1991. When I purchased the home 3 years ago I noticed slight cracks where the home is joined in the middle. Recently the cracks seem to have gotten worse. The cracks have gotten much longer although not much wider. What can I do about this problem? Is this a problem I should be concerned about or simply re plaster in the cracked areas?

Our house was built in the 1940’s. Over 5 years ago a wind storm blew our new gutters totally off. Home-Owners ins. deductible was too high and the boss of the Company that did the work admitted they made the errors that caused them to blow off on that side. They came out and reviewed it with the boss, who happened to be a friend of my husband’s. He told my husband to contact him for a time to get it taken care of — no charge. My husband never called him. He never called my husband… since. Thing is we have had no gutters all alongside the driveway side of the house. The driveway meets the house. The few inches between house and driveway has started to “sag” slightly. I am worried about the foundation of this old house. I have heard of some kind of resilient substance that can be applied, in cases such as these. Could that be a possibility? We just don’t have a dime left at the end of the month. Is this something I could purchase at a home goods store and do myself?–Either rain gutters or other pavement protective application. Oh please help. And if our current situation left alone is a real bad idea/please let me know so I can tell my husband. Not to say I told you so….TO SAVE OUR HOUSE! Thank you all in advance for any help you can give!

It’s nearly 3am and I can’t sleep. I live near a major state HiWay. I complained to the village regarding the acceleration of the noise and shaking of my house. I have cracks in my floor. The village sent someone out to check and found the steel beam in the road had busted or broke. So far nothing have been started on to perform any repairs and without adequate rest I can not perform on my job. I am terrible afraid that something will cave in. I can’t sleep from the loud thump sound and shaking, which is worst. What can happen and what are my options?

we just bought a home in florida built in 1980 on a concrete slab. the sellers forgot to mention several items but the most troubling is we found a added cold water line exterior run in an adjoining bathroom, the floor slopes in same area approx 0.40 degrees and the door wont stay open swings shuts. I am really concerned what should I do???I am really scared of what might be going on. the sellers installed new wood flooring in the same area along with several other areas of the home.

Hello Mr. Lipford , i wanted to ask you a complex question …. where i live there is a basement it some water , when it rains, the walls are cracked, there are round small opening on bottom, how do i keep this under control, plus the large amount of on going rains made the creek over flow to the deck of house , its the foundation in trouble, am i in danger???

The hubby and I are about to remodel and add on a 32X20 master bed and bath, to a home that his father built back in the 70’s! The house is not in bad shape, just needs a little face lift. One of our projects will be to tear down the brick and take out the chain wall supporting it all the way around the home and use either vinyl siding or hardy board. The fear of tearing down the brick and chain wall makes me question about the houses stability afterwards!?!?! Can anybody give any advise on this or is it a bad idea? This is a soon to be done deal and there will be no undoing it! I just want to make sure we are not making things worse!
PS. The brick around the home has settled some and started cracking in some areas….

I am looking at a home in a different state. The listing states foundation repairs and transferable warranty.
Is this usually on the repairs or the entire foundation and what should I ask for to protect my self from additional cost in the future. Thanks Melissa

My air conditioner was leaking inside the house and my floor got wet to the point when I put my feet on the carpet water came over my toes. On e it dried the boards lifted. Will my floor fall in or am I good on that.

my front door faces south swings shut my back gate faces north swings open to the east the south east corner of the house I noticed the slab and the dirt is drop down below the slab and around the pool the dirthas drop down below the slab most all of the way around the north side

My house was built in 1964. There are a few wet stains on the basement cinder blocks. The house is made of brick. In the front of the house, the bricks close to the ground always appear wet. We had new down spots ,a French drain installed, the gutters cleaned & gutter guards on. As well as the grading rediverted. So why are the bricks wet,the entire length of the house from ground up to 24 inches.

Hi, we are building a new home, the builder forgot to put the standing shower a little lower to the ground , now we would like to have that built in our new home . Now the home is at sheet stage and my question is how will they cut the concrete foundation and what will be the impact on whole foundation if it is done by cutting the concrete?

Hi, my house was built 3 years ago and have had major issues like outside brick wall opening up, majority of the bedroom doors can’t be closed at all, cornice cracks, tiles coming off to list the major ones.
I had concreted the whole area around the house (around 100sqm) as soon as I moved in but overtime I noticed the concrete was sloping towards the house and some water was logging around the walls. Could this have caused the issues I mentioned?
Last week, I had the concrete removed (the whole 100sqm, cost me a fortune to lay it and the same to remove). Dillema I have now is, should I concrete the area again with fall away from the house? If I do this, once the house settles again(assuming incorrect concrete was the issue), is there a chance my new concrete would lose the fall and I end up in the same situation as before?
Could you please provide some suggestion?
Thanks
Sam

I purchased a new home, after being in it several years, I notice the hall way floors are buckling and one of the bedrooms floor is creaky and making popping sounds when walking on it. I have a ten year warranty but the builder has went out of business what can I do to get help. Not able to get in contact with the builder.

We have a foundation of 18 yrs old and now we want to construct the building above it. Should we go to construct the building or what are the measures we have to take or observe?? Please suggest me I am in a big problem.

A week ago, a single, loud POPPING Noise from our kitchen was heard as we sat in the adjacent room. We discovered 7 cereamic tiles had Cracked, in an diagonal pattern. Our home is on an Elevated slab, is 6 years old and has a Homebuilder’s warranty of 10 years for structural damage. I called a foundation company and learned the process of an elevated slab and that the builders will likely try to gives excuses why they won’t cover. A rep (who instantly said “unliklely covered”) is coming to see initially Monday, after 10 days notice; thus, I could use help and good advice on how to challenge the Buildr’s “slice & dice to avoid action” tactics they’re known for.

We have recently bought an old mid terraced house, early 1900’s build, in the Salford, Manchester area.

We have got two cracks as follows:

Front upstairs bedroom – The crack runs diagonally downwards in the alcove wall, which adjoins onto next door, from the top of the chimney breast to approximately a third way up the wall into the corner were it adjoins to the front elevation of the property wall.

There does not seem to be a crack downstairs in the front living room to match or line up with the crack.

Front living room – there is a vertical crack in the corner of the front elevation wall with the hallway wall.

Do you have any ideas on what the cause of both cracks may be and what the remedy is.

I bought a house that is 10 years old and the foundation appears to be soft. When i poke it with a screw driver i can leave little holes in it. Is this normal or is it a red flag? What would be the best possible remedy?

I am purchasing a new house, the code of complaint certificate is failed due to “requested an engineers report in regards to the slab having to be rectified to accomadate new plumbing due to the ill placement of the original pipework”. Anyway the builder will sort this out to get CCC. But I am considering whether any potential risks because Christchurch has earthquake frequently? I do not know what kind of job they have done to correc ill placement,did they cut the fundation? can someone explain it? Thank you!

I am purchasing a new house, the code of complaint certificate is failed due to “requested an engineers report in regards to the slab having to be rectified to accomadate new plumbing due to the ill placement of the original pipework”. Anyway the builder will sort this out. But I am considering whether any potential risks? I do not understand what kind of job they have done to correc ill placement, can someone explain it? Thank you!

My husband and I are buying a new house and have a home inspection scheduled for next week. We went by the house yesterday and noticed there is a crack that runs from one of the interior walls in the front entrance all the way to the exterior wall on the other side of the living room. It is wood laminate flooring and the crack goes across several pieces of the laminate. Is this a foundational problem that we should be concerned about? Please Help!!!!

We have a one and a half story house built in 1975. We have owned it since 1988. In 2000 we thought we might be having foundation problems and called out 5 different foundation companies. 3 said no, 2 said yes. We then called out a structional engineer who said no that the house was just settling. We now have some slight signs, a few hairline cracks in the house and some bricks that have hairline cracks on the fireplace. One of the foundation companies that came out in 2000 still had his old measurements, the corner of one room had moved one inch. Is that natural for this age house (more settling) or do we need foundation work done? Thank you in advance.

Hi I live in a house that was foreclosed my dad bought it and it was built in 1951. When I moved in there were no cracks anywhere. I have straight lines above all windows and doors in my bedroom thin and straight cracks. My daughters room has one window with thin and straight and the other window has a stair step appearance crack on each side and is pretty wide and thin and straight on the bottom.My living room doors and windows have all thin and straight on top and bottom and one stair step one above one window. My bath and kitchen are fine. I also have a small stair step crack in the outside corner of the brick on one side of the house.My kitchen floor squeaks bad in one spot. Very embarrassing but when I moved here I am very clean and kept the home clean and it was fine for a few months.

About 7 or 8 months after moving in I kept seeing a few roaches here and there so I bombed twice and used gel roach bait motels and roach tablets. Well it did not help I was seeing more and more and this issue literally went from maybe seeing 5 bugs over a two month span to INFESTED. I have kept it all clean kept water cleaned up and made sure to set out everything possible I have bombed this place almost 30 times and sprayed the attic under the home and around and still have an issue. I had a brand new computer and alight started coming up on the hard drive and I took it apart nearly 200 roaches inside !! My computer thankfully still works. My daughters xbox and playstation have to be cleaned weekly every time we take them apart almost 50 to 60 of these roaches come out of it. My fridge drip pan has bug droppings and turns black after two weeks of being cleaned. It is a health issue now I am giving it a few more months and I am moving if they don’t. I hate cooking or eating even sleeping I have had two roaches one in either ear crawl in my ear while asleep!!I think these bugs were either already here or there’s just an issue with the house that draws them here because no bugs were brought here and I have never had any bugs before it is is crazy.Please help 🙂

My house is 12 years, i had gaping side wall at the corner about an inch ,,was repaired, another cracked on the angle,of the door post on the upper corner. Also the pantry cabinet which is L shaped became l ower on one side about 1/4 inch. My handy man said i do not have a foundation but “slab”. How do i fix the problem and where do i start. Give a rough estimate how much it would cost me in Sacramento area.

I have a two story home with a high ceiling entryway. I just noticed that I can see the attic foundation outlined up on the ceiling as though it is putting a lot of weight on it. It looks as though it is coming thru my ceiling. Anyone know how much it is to fix and if this is a major problem. My home is only 9 yrs old.

We bought this bungalow show home built in 2006 in Dec.2010 in Gold Canyon, AZ. I hear loud cracking noises mostly in the north bedroom & family room in the evening after the sun goes down. There are also slight cracking noises in the south facing study about the same time. Last year we had a window replaced in the study that was badly cracked & the carpet throughout the home is bunching. The house is built on a concrete slab “post tension”. Can the house still be “settling” or are there other issues?

I own a 60+ year old cottage that is on sandy soil. It has no foundation except for a 2 bedroom addition that was put on 5 years ago. The structure is 34′ x 20′. We think it is starting to sink in one corner. Is this a big problem or should we just leave things alone.

I hava a 15 yr old house with a block foundation which I have notice a stair step cracks, 5 of these on three walls. One is on the corner of the house (we have a large (tall) crawl space which is wet and has a mold problem. How do I know if this is a problem with the foundation? We have had three estimates done, only one suggested we include fixing the foundation, at $23,000. other estimates did not note the foundation problem but did see the cracks.

Had this house built 21 years ago. The problem is the settling. In the winter the inside walls drop about 1/2inch from the ceiling, doors will not shut or of course will not lock. In the summer the wall moves back up almost all the way. What do we need to do to fix this?

I have recently purchased a house last summer, started doing renos, to notice minor mold growth on some walls I have since then replaced all insulation, vapor barrier, and drywall on all upstairs outside walls. But am having problems as I can feel cold air/moisture problems in two of the rooms upstairs still as I can feel water forming where the drywall meets the hardwood( I have not redone and baseboards yet and the rest of walls above feel fine as for tempature) just wondering what I should be looking at next? exterior/ foundation? The main floor where I feel the cold air coming in is about two feet above ground level. Also all the windows in the house are fogged up due to high moisture problem.(winter months)

My house was built on slab. I have a leak under my kitchen sink behind the cabinet. I was told the cabinet would have to be ripped out and that the water may be running under my wood floors also. who can I call to check into this better?

Purchased a home about a year ago, though the home is nearly 7 years old. I noticed a couple months after moving in a large but thin crack above baseboards in garage. I didn’t think much of it, the thin crack is now a couple inches wide and looks like someone took a thick slice from the bottom of the wall. Is this something that should be looked at or is it something that can be repaired by my husband?

I have a large crack, about 1/2″ wide, running all the way across my living room ceiling. It starts on a fireplace wall and runs the entire span of the room. I also noticed some the the crown molding around the room is separating from the ceiling. The crack does not run through to other rooms. My living room is in the center of my house with a finished basement underneath it. The basement looks unaffected. What could cause this? The crack has been there for a while now and has not grown any larger. Any advice or help is appreciated.

Hello, we are trying to sell our house and we had a home inspection done and there was no structural damage, there are no cracks in the walls anywhere, it has a few cracks in the tile in the kitchen and the foyer, it is on a slab foundation. we have people interested to buy but because of cracked tile they are concerned the foundation may be cracked. what is your opinion and should we have a structural engineer come look?

Hey my house was built 7 years ago and were the only owners. Now there are verticle cracks in the walls mostly corners of doors corners one horizontal above a door and a couple just on a wall which im hoping is just from settling the thing that worries me more is the fact the wall in my living room whice is an exterior wall doesnt touch the floor. Our house is a raised concrete slab in little rock AR. Do you think this could be major.

My house is about 50 years old, the basement floor has heaved about 1-3 inches in the center of the basement, the foundation walls appear to be solid. I live outside of Denver and there are a lot of deposits of expansive soils in the area. The house was not very well taken care of before I purchased it. I have made all efforts to mitigate the water from getting under the house and I think I have arrested the heaving. I had a contactor over and his recommendation is too dig out the entire basement floor and re-pour it. This will very costly. The heaving in the basement floor has made the first floor uneven, not bad enough that I cannot close doors but I know it’s there and anything that can roll will roll across the floors. My question is, can lower the basement jacks to level the first floor or will I be causing more trouble?

We had the basement door replaced which originally had no problem by home depot now when it was looked at all of a sudden we have a foundation problem what can be done? The door no longer shuts right or swings right or anything

The house is 55 years old. A year ago the old pipes were replaced with new and a trench dug from the house to the main line at the street. A lot of work was done beneath the house. Also, two years ago the roof was replaced.

In recent months cracks have appeared in the concrete slab in the sunroom, the concrete slab inside the garage and down the driveway. They began small but are now larger and breaking up into quadrants. Who does one contact for an inspection? Should it be an inspector with structural engineer expertise or a general home inspector? And what is the cost of an inspection in the East Bay in California?

Appreciate any input you can provide. It’s very stressful to wonder if the cracks are the forerunner of a major condition and expense.

I have a basement with huge cracks on the foundation and they are old, house is 78 years and we are here 22 years.
my daughter wants to have a garden apartment but I worry about the humid conditions and mildew. How can I find a good inspector for the floor and walls and a reputable cement contracting company/

My home is 60 years old and is a pier and beam foundation in North Texas. A structural engineer inspected and advised me to patch or cover some hairline cracks showing on the outside exposed part of the foundation, a few years ago. Otherwise, it passed inspection. Also, all doors closed well and no cracks in the exterior bricks or any other issues. I am getting ready to have the patching done but it has been difficult to find a company that specializes in this. A concrete contractor has given me an estimate of $2800 and proposes to grind out any existing locations where concrete is worn and the hairline crack and use a silicone sealer when finished. My house is only 1400 square feet. It seems that some refer to this process as plastering in the South and parging in the North. I have been trying to research this topic and it seems that some believe you should not use a sealer on the foundation. My first question is what are the important things to know about this process and is it wise to use a sealer when done? Also, I had one location in my floor in a doorway that squeaked and felt soft when walking across that location. I asked a general contractor about it and he suggested that he could bring lumber in under the house and support the location so that it would not squeak. In reading other postings about sagging floors I recognize that the contractor said he would “sister” new joists alongside the old. However, what he ended up doing was placing two steel shims in that location. It certainly fixed the floor at that location but the adjacent room now has multiple squeaks and two doors are difficult to close now. The doorway above the repair and the adjacent bathroom both now have a 14 inch long crack (each) from the ceiling downward. I am also about to renovate the shower in the adjacent bathroom. Obviously the use of the shims has affected that bathroom. Should I consider removing the shims? I do not need any foundation repair; however, I am nervous that the contractor has used this method to correct the squeak and soft spot in the floor. What do you suggest? I must get this resolved before I renovate the bathroom. Had I known what effect this would have I would have lived with the squeak. I really appreciate your advice.

I own a condo in a building that is 35 years old. It was a building that was an attempt at prefab constructions and was built on site using pods to my understanding. the units were basically prefab units stacked and then finished on-site. we are starting to have some pipes break and cracks in the 1st floor walls. The first floor also has the swimming pool and an unfinished area with a pump due to all the water coming from snow melt, it is in the mountains in Colorado. With that we are not sure if this is due to the building getting older. If the materials used were not the best quality. We know the workmanship during this time was not the best as they were selling as fast as they were built. My Question: what should we be concerned about? Are horizontal cracks in the drywall normal over time or is it a concern? Sewage pipes or plumbing needing to be replace? We have a lot of minerals in the water and find that water heaters do not make it to the minimum life. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I just bought a house in Dallas, TX that’s about 30 years old. There are some small mortar cracks above the front windows (barely noticable) that’s the only exterior cracks I see. There are some settling cracks in the interior walls but my main concern is that one of the bedroom doors upstairs always slowly closes. If the door is left open it closes on its own! It usually stops before it is completely shut leaving about 1 1/2 inch open, but I’m concerned its foundation problems. I haven’t really noticed anything on the exterior and am wondering if it has something to do with the settling and the house being two stories?

I bought this house last august. Also I’m considering using a soaker hose around the exterior of the house to water the foundation. Texas get’s HOT!

I purchased my Florida home thirty years ago. The screened in “Florida room” on the back of the house was added on by the previous owner. The house originally had only a six by six concrete slab outside of the sliding glass doors. The previous owner left that slab intact and added more concrete slab around it to install the large “Florida room”.
Their was a huge live oak tree near the room which we had removed due to safety concerns. Problem now is that the additional concrete slab is starting to lean forward while the original six by six slab is still level. This has caused the screen door on the “Florida room” leading to the back yard to need several adjustments over time to operate properly. The outdoor carpeting is starting to tear along the outer lines of the original six by six slab. Is their a fix for this problem – or would we be better off scrapping it and starting over? The room itself – metal, etc. is in very good condition.

I have a plumbing problem that requires all or partial replacement. I also have foundation problems, all of this has been confirmed by various structual engineers. My question is what do I fix first, plumbing or foundation and what facts do you base your recommendation?.

I have a house that is 41 years old. It is a tri-level home built. The bottom floor is built on concrete and the main floor and upstairs sits over the crawl space. I have noticed the floors on the main level are not level and they squeek. Also upstairs in all of the bedrooms I have the same problems with the floors. When we walk on the floors I can feel that they give a little. I do not have any cracks in the walls, the windows and doors close as they should. I do have drywall nail pops in the ceilings and walls on the main and upper floor. I can also see the indentation of what appears to be a beam in the ceilings. I went under the house in the crawl space and I do not see any cracks in the bricks, no termite problems.Is this a foundation issue or normal settling? Should I be concerned?

I am looking to purchase a 30 year old house in Texas. It recently had foundation work done and I am curious to find out if it was serious. The paperwork i found shows they installed 13 peirs on 1 side on of the house. Contacted the company and all they said was the house had 2 inches of drop. Can you please give me information on what these means?

My home is 32 years old. I just had my foundation leveled. I had some contractors come in and remodel my bathroom. One of the guys who working on the bathroom also does foundations. He measured and told me my house is not level. There was not more than 2 inches or less difference in his measurements. Called the company back out and they tell me my house is as good as it can be. Now what do I do? How do I know that I paid $5500 for leveling that is good or a crappy job? Not sure how to find out. It’s like it his word against the others. ugh! help!

I have a house is estimated to be built sometime in the early 1900’s. The foundation appears to be poured slab and not cracked any where. I recently renovated some rooms in the house and now im seeing cracks appear in those rooms. I also noticed part of my main floor sloping downward. I would guess it would be settling but a house should be settled after almost a hundred years. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Purchased a 13 y/o home on a slab foundation one year ago. House advertised as completely renovated, better than new. Foundation work disclosed with life time transferable warranty. No flaws noted and house passed inspection. Approximately 3 months after purchasing home, back door to deck can not be used. to use it, you have to pry the door up to get it to close. Now, jigsaw cracks in all rooms, doors that will not close. Called out foundation company who did work to re-access and now being told only partial foundation work repaired and my problem is not where they did their work, life-time warranty will not cover and they can come out for $15,000 more to repair. Stating house has dropped 2 inches. Also, stated “we can only repair what owner tells us to”. You can tell that in the room where the work was done that the slab is broken as you can feel it under the carpet. My concerns are where they did the work on one side of the house, did that put pressure on the back side where all the issues now seem to be? Do I have any legal recourse. On two occasions I have heard 2 loud “pops” within the house. New ceramic tile in kitchen is breaking and you can actually see under kitchen cabinets how much floor has dropped. I am very disheartened, concerned and frustrated – any advice? Thanks

My husband and I are building a new home. We have not moved in yet but plan to in the next month. We finished the lower level. Last week we noticed a small hairline crack below a window which the builder said was due to a seem in the dry wall. The painter fixed it. Now today……we noticed a small crack started right below the support beam. Does anyone know if this if due to a foundation issue? Would we see a foundation issue this quickly after a home has been build? We have not even moved in. What should we do? Should we have an engineer come check it out?

I need help.Our home has major foundation problems.We want to sell it and move to a smaller place.Should we fix the problem or try to sell it as is? We are 64 and 70 years of age.It would probably cost 40,000 plus to repair it.I need advice.Thanks.

We are looking at buying a home that was sold to a relocation company, because it slopes on the bottom and second floor. I didn’t notice it on the bottom floor, until I was told, but the second floor is a little more obvious. I have a structural engineers report stating that due to the flooding from hurricane Katrina, it sped up the 10-20 year settlement process on one side of the house. Their are no cracks inside, or outside of the house anywhere. The engineers report states that it is cosmetic only, and he does not see it settling anymore, or cracking in the future. The price has been reduced $60,000 and is a great buy for the size. Our concern is the risk of future damage, or being able to resell it. Could this house be an option, or too risky. (it is near marsh as well) thank you for any inout you have.

HEllo, Our house is approximately 40 years old. Our basement floor was redone about 9 years ago. Beams were put across the cement floor and then the flooring ontop. We now have a soft/spongy spot in one area. We called a plumber in to check if we had water leaking under the floor. He cut two holes into the floor and looked around but did not see any water leak. (He did not cut into the soft area as it is in a very noticeable place). We are not sure what to do next and we still don’t know why the floor is soft in this one area. Any suggestions or ideas as to what might be the problem?

I purchased a house almost 2 years ago. The had been work done to stabalized the basement wall at the rear of the house that is on a hill. I had an inspection done and was told everything was fine. The disclosure from the realator said that the basement had been corrected properly. Now I find out that the cement between the stones in the basement walls is degrading. Do I have any legal recourse? There have been other issues with the house as well that I had been assured were not an issue when I was looking at the house but I chose not to have a septic tank test done or a well test and have had to replace both. I feel very taken advantage of as a single mother purchasing a house and I can not afford to replace the entire basement of my house.

We are looking at buying a house. It is 50 years old. We noticed some cracks in the bricks on the outside, maybe 1/2″ split. We had a structural engineer come out and he said there is about 3% sink. Is this bad or is it something we shouldn’t worry about for now?

Just because a contractor has insurance and license does not mean he is proficient at his area of specialization. I know a house leveling guy that went the some hard times financially and had to liquidate some work assets but can’t afford the costly credentials to do a lot more jobs.however he does spectacular work,is highly proficient and resourceful at his area of specialization (house leveling). He educates the customer why the problem,how to solve it , is totally upfront and truthful about the work to be performed and shows up and actually participates and does the work . And is zealous to do it right and is constantly imfoimf/educating customer all along the way. I would like to help others find out about him because he also knows all about home. Construction and certified termite man trained at Texas a& m orkin . And he invented an air jack system that is really cool and lifts fast and easy

In the last six months, the ceiling in my kitchen has developed two cracks above the door going to my garage. One crack goes from the wall toward the center of the room and is about 8 inches long, the other one goes from the angled corner of the wall at the ceiling and is now at least 3 feet long and fairly wide where the crack begins. I have been told that maybe one of the ceiling joists may have broken in the ceiling. It is a vaulted ceiling. I don’t know who to call to have this evaluated. Do I call a structural engineer? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

My house has foundation problems. All the typical signs, cracked plaster, doors won’t close, etc. We have had estimates for repair but must wait until Feb or Mar to repair. My current problem is that the hardiplank on the exterior has seperated from the wall and cracked. Is there a way of fixing this now or does the foundation need to be leveled first? Any help would be appreciated!

My house is 40 years od. There is a horizontal crack on the front and back walls running the lenght of the garage and basement. This crack was mentioned on my home inspection 15 years ago as something to monitor. This crack was also present when the previous owners bought the house 10 years before that. Therefore these 2 cracks have been there for a least 25 years and have not changed or shifted to the visable eye. Now that I am trying to sell the house it has become a problem. The buyers want me to pay to rod and grout both walls. If there has been no problem for 25years , why now

I am looking at purchasing a cottage built in 1978. The home inspector said the concrete block foundation was laid with the holes on the blocks showing. The exterior of the foundation has a skim coat and the holes are filled and there are no cracks. Is this a major issue?

My wife and I are considering buying a house that sits on a cliff. I want to make sure the foundation is secure (for obvious reasons). Should I contact a civil engineer or structural engineer to evaluate the footings and rock? Would this be a specialization or would any civil/structural engineer be able to help us?

I live in home built in 78 with cracks in the back patio upon purchase on 1986 but the last three years noticed slabs west of patio bowing and a dip in my back yard.. no pressure changes in sprinkler system, or pool leaks noted and only one tree pony tail palm, short roots. also noting a dip in my back yard on the northeast side of house. where do i start to get reliable individuals. Florida is known for fly by nights.
What are my options? This has been happening over the past 3-4 years but have been going through process of elimination. I need some solid advise. thanks.

I bought a McBride and Son home and it was built in the fall of last year of 2010 in Shiloh, Illinois. I asked the builder if they can put a jacket around the concrete foundation. But, they said it was no necessary. It rained hard for weeks and the temperature dropped below 40 Fahrenheit. Now my foundational walls have developed 2 major cracks going completely through an is developing hairline cracks. Can the builder buy back this house, or I am stuck to rely upon the builders warranty? Is there anything I can do legally?

My son bought a new home last year in the Ft. Worth area. He is having really bad foundation problems. He brought these problems to the attn. of the home builder shortly after moving into the home. The home builder is just now acknowledging there is a problem. What kind of recourse does he have other than having the foundation repaired? Later down the road when he wants to sell the house he’s afraid it won’t be attractive to anyone unless he loses money on the sell of the house. Can he get monatary compensation along with the foundation being fixed?

I am looking into purchasing a home and had an inspection done this week. He pointed out in the basement there is water damage to the walls. One wall is leaning almost 2 inches. Is this a serious problem worth more than $20,000? Is there a time-frame in which the wall would need to be fixed?
Thank You,
Brittany

I bought a 1963 raised foundation home 6months ago. When I walked around the house before purchasing I did not notice any creaking or slop that is now noticed on the kitchen entry. The creaking seems to have gotten worse and more areas. Who do I contact? Before I purchased the house there was no carpeting but is now installed. I have two bathroom toilets that rock. They have been tightened but keep coming loose.

Hello,
My fiance and I bought a house in April of 2010. The past weekend we got a lot of rain and noticed a puddle in our basement. We investigted this further and found a large crack in the foundation that was being hid by a small cement slab under the eavesthrough. There is no way that the preious owner did not know about this. Throughout our process of buying this house the previous owner filled out a form saying that there was never water in the basement or anything like that. Is the previous owner liable at all?

I buying this house from my parents for half of what they paid for because it needs work. New siding, Windows need to be updated and minor interior work like new carpet and the like. My big concern is the foundation settled about 3 inches when they had a drought years ago. The house had the front settle the most and you can really see it in the supports in the crawl space. Should I see about having the front under pinned and pushed back to level. Also I spring and summer there is a fair amount of water that seeps in unless it a drought year and in the winter it is dry. I am thinking of put per tubing and then a sump in.

Hi. Came across this site after looking at a beautiful home for sale that does have stair step cracks on 2 corners of the brick house. This is disclosed and realtors states $20k to repair. I have 2 questions I hope you can answer. First, does $20k seem an appropirate estimate. And, Second, the house actually appraised in 2010 for $260,000. The current asking price is $125,000. Will a mortgage company loan $145,000 to cover the repair?

We are looking to purchase a 30 year old home on a crawl space. It has seperation in the exterior brick mortar in stair step and some mortar looking seperation around one of the doors. There is no problem opening or closing any doors, the floor appears level, no squeaks, interior doors open/close perfectly. No sheetrock but paneling so I don’t know if there would be cracks. No seperation/gaps around trim boards. Could this just be normal settling?

We bought a home that was built back in the 1900’s the house has alot of history and chactor it has the old dirt basement with the walls being stone with concrete. The foundation sits on glazed tile which has cracks in a couple of places. We would like to cover the tile on the outside of the house but we dont know how to do it or what to use. Do you have any ideas? The house is sound can you help ???

Hello, my home is about 6 years old and we are the orginal owners. We have large cracks that are diagonal at two different door frames and the doors will no longer shut. I had the bulder come out and he tells me that a joyst is about 3 inches off and the house is “sagging” under those doors causing the dry wall to crack. Our floors are also very creaky and the carpet has started to bunch and fold. Is he telling me the truth?? Should I get someone else to look at it?

i noticed some hairline cracks on the garage floor mostly starts from the corners of the base pf the piers. i am not sure if these are signs of foundation problem. I want to consult a professional, but how much approximate will inspection costs in general?

Oops, one last thing…the house we bought was built in 1978. New laminate was put in two years ago and there laminate has split in one small section about 1/8″. This seems to be related to the sloped floor and by this logic only took place in the last two years since the laminate is two years old. Could the settling be just from the ground being so dry. Should we have a professional foundation inspection done?

Hi Danny. Great website! Also, I see you are willing to give free advice to people, that is very nice of you. Quick question. We recently bought a house that has a mild sloped floor in the corner of the kitchen. The slop isn’t much, but is somewhat noticeable. Also, several gaps aroudn the tops of doors are apparent and it looks like the previous owner put some caulking about the tops of the crown molding. Gaps there only about 1/8″ or so. This was a FSBO from a Professor at the local University. He seems very honest. Do we need to be concerned that these are structural problems? The house is in an area with a high water table and last year was very dry for the area. We looked at another house in the same area and were about ready to have a foundation inspector come in when the seller canceled the deal. This house has some real obvious signs of issues…and they obviously weren’t trying to hide them. The house we bought though had new carpeting througout and new paint.
Should we be concerned? The house was inspected by a general home inspector who we were told was really good and he didn’t see anything to be concerned with. Given our problems with the other house we looked at, we are really worried this house may have issues the seller hid under new carpeting or paint and spackle. Help please!!!!

I bought my house last year and it is 7 years old. We periodically hear these very load noices in the house… seems like on our 2nd floor deck(sound like someone smashes the house with boards) After inspecting the house more closely, we noticed the beams are all shifting and turning.
They do not fit square into the deck flooring that was cut around the beam. I do not know if this is where the noises are coming from or if those beams are shifting now or already shifted previously. I know for sure one has slightly shifted as the railing has pulled away from the beam by 1/4 inch. Is this settling even years later or am i have a structural issue? Nothing else seems to be an issue. I do not see any foundation problems or any walls cracking or sinking

We were considering purchasing a condo in a 2 unit complex. We found out that due to faulty drainage the foundation had to be repaired (ramjack) as well as cinderblocks. The drainage issue was corrected. Should we move forward with this purchase or walk away? I assume that it could affect resale as we will be required by law to put it on our property disclosure form.

Hi,
My husband and I bought a 30 year old house last summer. We had some conerns because we saw some stairstep cracks in the mortar of the bricks outside and a weird looking vertical crack in the garage (which is under the house) wall. We asked the sellers to have it inspected by a structual engineer to see if the cracks were a potential problem. It came back clear from him. Since we moved in however, we are noticing other issues; doors that stick through out the house, bubbly-looking corners in several of the upstairs bedrooms, and it makes me wonder if we have any legal recourse if we do, indeed have structural problems. What do you think?

My sister and her husband are looking to buy a home.
They went through one last night and loved it until they reached the basement (this home is in Illinois). They spotted some mold, albeit slight, and an outside wall that my sister described as “wavy”.
Should they assume there is foundation trouble?

We have a 7 year old home. During final walk through, we noticed the carpet wet in the walk-out basement. We were told during the home inspection to keep that side of the house clear of snow during melting (in the spring) to prevent water buildup next to our home. The previous owners were not aware of the wet carpet. We just had freezing rain storm, mixed with melting snow, now the carpet is soaked. There is also water coming up through cracks in the garage (part of walk out basement) along with the water seeping into the garage through the corners and joints of the wall (the same wall as in the bedroom with wet carpet). HELP SOON!

Legally, I’m not sure if you have a case. In the cases I have testified and been a part of, a homeowner (you) would need to prove the previous owner knew about the issue and lied about it. This can be very hard to do unless the basement was finished right before you bought it, or you can find the contractor who finished the basement (he might remember cracks in the wall), but even then you would need to prove that the homeowner had full knowledge.

For the repairs, I would get 2-3 opinions and even hire a structural or geotechnical engineer to assess the issues. Many times you can wait to make repairs, allowing years to save up for the repairs. In other situations, you can do some other things to help with the problem (regrading, drainage, etc). Ask around, there are usually more than one way to skin a cat. $20,000 is steep although it may be the actual cost.

My husband and I bought our home in June of this year. It was a HUD held home, but all inspections were done by them and then by us as well. All checked out perfectly. We have a basement that is split down the center of the home. When you get to the bottom landing you can go left to the workshop or right into the laundry area. We recently had about 5.5 inches of rain in a 24 hour period and ended up with 5 inches of water in the right side of the basement which is roughly 20 x 12 so it was like a large kids pool. We can not tell where it came in, there are no cracks in the flooring, signs of water on the ceiling or any spot that stays wet. I find it hard to believe this is the first time this has happened, but it was not disclosed. What can we do?

I purchase my home last October 2009; in the last few months of 2010 had massive movement in the foundation and bricking of my home. First AAA is canceling my Home Owner Insurance, as of October 19, 2010, due to the cracking in the mortar in the bricking (Side of the house). I called the original Inspector that inspected the house for me. He looked over the house a seconded time, and notice things that he did not see the first time. Long story short, I had a foundation company come out to give me an estimate to fix this issue to Michigan Stands, It will cost me $20.000 to fix the foundation, not including the cracking and bowing of the bricks on all sides of the house. The foundation company found a crack in the basement wall, from the top of the basement to the bottom (floor). The crack measures about 7ft. long and ½ – 1in wide I have pictures before and after removal of dry wall. In the disclaimer list, there was nothing stating that there was a foundation problem or cracking behind basement walls.
When I purchase this house, I trusted my Realtor, and the Home Inspector, to see and point out these things that I would not see. I purchase this house in good faith, that nothing major was wrong with it. Now I have to find $20.000 to fix this problem and get my Home Insurance back. I believe that the previous owner hide this problems behind the basement walls, with dry wall. When the foundation company took down a section of the basement wall, it was so obvious that this house had foundation problems. I would not have purchase this home if I knew that it had foundation issues. What can I do legally?

I purchased a home five years ago. Its a slab house that is now 47 years old. The house was “flipped” by a real estate company. They did a poor job on alot of the remodeling. After I moved in, approximately 3 months later diagonal cracks appreared in my bedrooms at the windows and in the living room. The real estate company did not disclose that there were any types of cracks on the walls during their remodeling. They did not have any permits for the work they did on the house (I checked). They put that they did not live in the house so they did not disclose any of the cracks. They had to know because their painters had to patch them to paint over them. The cracks come back everytime after I patch over them with joint mud. Can I sue them for non disclosure fraud?

My husdand and I brought a 35 year old house almose 3months ago and after heavy rain one day, we noticed in the dining room a large square shape where it looks like ceiling is leaking from water. What are our options? The seller had to known about this. This could not be the first time, from one day of heavy rain. Should I contact my lawyer to see if the seller if oglicated to fix? We have already put in a lot of money to fix other things with this house, but I am thinking their is an issue with the roof, that was not disclosed or hidden by the seller saying “Do not Know” on the seller’s disclosure.

If you have trees in your slab, I suggest you call both a tree specialist and a foundation specialist both together can help you with your problem.But to much water can cause lifting so i wouldnt try to solve a problem with water, the pros in your area are familiar with your soil and ground conditions and can help you save a little now are a lot later. Remember it doesnt cost that much more to go first class so take care of your investment now or it may cost you thousands later.

Husband and I just had our home inspected. Upon inspection, they found a horizontal hairline crack about two feet in length, and 1/16th of an inch in width. Slight bowing, but not much along the crack. The crack is located in the morter and NOT the cinder blocks. We are hiring a Certified Foundation Structural Engineer to tell us if this is a failing structure or not. We have no other problems with the home, no cracks any where else. The buyers want to hire a repair person to come out. We are frustrated because we have dumped so much money into this house, paying all the buyers closing costs, and we have come down in price, not to mention all of the updates we have done to this home due to the age. Any suggestions on this type of crack?

DALE – are you saying soil stabilization can help FIX a foundation problem or just stop it from happening or getting worse. Yes, Texas dirt sucks and so many foundations shift all the time – what if no doors or windows stick but one corner of the house has “Dropped” due to a tree being closer than it should have? can that be fixed with underground watering and soil stabilization?
thanks

I bought a new house ( built in late 2008 ) in mid 2009 and am seeing two small cracks in the cement on the foundation on one corner of the foundation/house. What should I do and who should i call? Is this a problem and if so , how can it be corrected?

I am a home builder in Texas where the soil is always shifting from reading all of yalls notes compalints I suggest you all contact a soil stabilization company there are 3 in this area,I repair foundations and i can tell you the cost are high its a very labor intensive process soil injection company can almost usually fix the problem immediate and its warrentied for the life of the house the warrenty transfers over to the new owners everytime the house sells so dont let any contractor sell you a pipe dream call the soil stabilization specialist unless the concrete is dead and i mean deteoriating to the point it is brittle and easily falling apart then you have no choice but to raise the house about 3 inches and change the cement out both cost about the same one is a quick fix and the other takes a week or two to complete at about $40,000 to $45,000 depending on your location in the US and the size of you foundation. Good luck to each and everyone of you.

My husband and I bought a house in 2008. We noticed a crack from top to bottom on one of the rooms last year, 2009. We also see the uneven door level, as being noted on some of the above comments. We are now starting to see cracks on the ceiling on some of the other rooms. I didnot know what to do so I was looking online and came across your website. After reading some of the comments abvove, I think its also a foundation problem. Is the previous owner responsible for paying if it’s foundation problem? Do you know who I can escalate this to please????

Danny – I am seeing lots of foundation symptoms in my home. It was built in the early 70’s. I’m seeing the following:
* doors in the backs side of the house (bedroom area)
do not close in winter
* doors i

Hi, I am looking at a foreclosed house built in 2005. It seams has fundation problem. The cost for put in pier system, water pipe drainage, and fix cracks will run about $70,000, and any hidden problems are extra, plus fix damage to the landscap. Should I ask for additional $100,000 reductional from the price, or should I consider to buy it at all.

I bought a house five months ago, and during the home inspection, we noticed small cracks in the exterior walls (it’s a brick house with those big breeze-block bricks and concrete at the base). Well, recently, I noticed that the cracks on one side of the house have become bigger. My neighbor noticed them too and said the old owners should repair the cracks as they are liable. I wondered what my legal position is on this?

I had a house built 4 years ago so it relatively still new. About six months after being in my home, I started noticing cracks above doors. I called the builder and he had it repaired and he said the house was just settling. Well I have had more cracks and some doors won’t close. I called my builder and again he had it repaired. This has been going on for the last four years. I’ve done some research and had some estimates from foundation companies. My question is isn’t my builder responsible for having the foundation repaired. I don’t have the funds. I think this was faulty construction from the beginning stages of pouring the foundation. What are my rights? HELP!!

I am interested in a slab ranch style home in Illinois corn country. The house appears sound, but there is a crack in the slab of the living room. The crack runs a good 12 feet. Is it fixable or will it be more problems down the road? Thank you. Susan

We built a house in 2002 on sandy clay. The last couple of years we have had major droughts in Texas. We have crackes diagonal about three doors, three windows and our front door will not open. We see no cracks outside around the foundation; however we have hardiplank, so not sure if you can see any cracks. Could we have a foundation problem. My husband seems to think that the wood has shrunk, especially since it was really green during the building process. We have beams every 12 feet and lots of iron in the foundation.

I am trying to sell a house that has major foundation problems to the tune of 50,000. 60% of the house is unleveled. The house still has a mortgage owed for 20,000 more than the repair est. How can I sell this house???

Hey Guys. I am looking to purchase a house in North Carolina that was built in 1941. It has a brick foundation, which are not common in the North, where I am from and learned all I know about home construction. There are two three-inch vertical separations in the brick at the back end of the house that run the length of the foundation. It doesn’t seem like it has affected the house much, but is this something I should consider before I buy it? Could I patch it with concrete or reinforce the wall from the inside crawlspace with another layer of brick?

My home is currently under construction and the builder installed the plumbing to bathroom 3 in the wrong location. He installed it in the doorway of my gameroom!! The builder has offered to relocate the plumbing to its proper place but has to break through my newly poured and still curing foundation. I need to know if this will compromise the foundation or pose any future problems. Also, I am worried about future plumbing/drainage problems as a result of this repair. Thank you so much for your response.

There are several symptoms which indicate the house has foundation problem:
– Cracks at garage and patio floors
– Sloping floors: kitchen and stairway
– Diagonal cracks in the wall at corners of doors (master bedroom, hall bathroom) and cracks at kitchen ceiling

We think all of these symptoms are caused by water problem. There is a creek at back of the house and whenever there is heavy rain; water will get in garage and crawlspace. We did install sump pump and well to help resolving the problem; but sometime with the heavy rain, we still have water in these two areas.

If we decide to hire foundation repair contractor to fix it; we are not sure if there is “solid ground” under the foundation since this is a poor building site to begin with.

We appreciate if you can help us out by answering the following questions:
1. Does it help to install helical pier to stabilize our house foundation or there is other way to resolve it?
2. We think this house builder did a bad job and the town did not supervise this job well. Can we ask our town to be responsible for the foundation repair?

HELP. The 2-year-old brick home I purchased passed inspection. Now, I’m selling it and discovered that it won’t pass inspection because the builders cut corners on laying the chain wall. In some places, bricks compensate for an uneven chainwall. I’m limited in funds. What can I do to get the foundation secure and inspection safe?
Keith

My house is 26 years old and I’ve noticed the last couple years that the small patio has separation from the rock fireplace about 1/2 inch wide (east side of house on the back). The side of the garage sidewalk in front of the house also has about the same separation (south side of house). No door problems, but the two rooms on the east side have some tape separation along the ceiling (tall ceilings).
Foundation problem or settling?
Thanks

We just bought a house, it is 31 years old.
There is cracks in the concrete floor in the basement laundry room, don’t know where else because it is carpeted.
I have been noticing on a lot of the walls, epecially in basement, that where the drywall joints are, it is becoming more noticable. Two inside walls in the basement have vertical cracks in paint, where the drywall joints are?
Anyway, I am worried! Is this normal shifting or could it be a foundation problem? No problems with doors or anything else.

What about cracks that are mainly in the ceiling? What does this mean? I have a high sloped ceiling and there are cracks running from the peak and down both sides but not next to each other. One of the cracks runs down the side wall to a vent. I also have a crack running across the ceiling of a small hallway then a little down the side wall. There is a crack running across a small part of a ceiling in a bedroom next to the box ceiling. There is a crack running completely through the brick pillar that holds up the extended end of the front porch covering. No problems with windows, doors or floors and there aren’t any diagonal cracks.

Hello ALL: I need help! I am a new homeowner I brought my 102 yr old home 2 yrs ago. Previous owners remolded both bathrooms, mud room entry way, living room and two bed rooms with new blasted plaster (dry wall has a bubbled beaded look to it. I brought the home from an old friend that was in the realitor business. The inspector gave it a clean billed stated that it had some mild settling issues. wHEN IT RAINS in the middle of the basement the floor gets a bit wet mostly damp. I thought about dry lock to keep moisure out? comments on dry lock? my problems got worse because About 2 months later I noticed the floors on the upper level were higher towards the walls and the floor started to slope. I had the same inspector come out and he told me normal settling d/t the beam in basement had not sunk. then stated could be pressure from new tub prior owners put in? Now I noticed majot cracking in the kitchen dry walls, floor slopes to middle of house. slopes down about 1/4 inch from wall to support beam. In basement (my basement is top1/2 old city brick/ bottom half field rock that have white ash on them)no cracks found around major wood support beam but, could the metal beams holding up the wood support beam could those sink into the cement floor? is that possible? It seems that slopping is getting worse every year!! The prior owner also cut one of the smaller support beam to install the tub. I believe they had some prior water damage d/t there is all new wood around the tub area (visual from basemant) I also notice the tiles are coming up in the secound floor bathroom. The secound floor is also very cold during the winter and hot and humid during the summer. (i do have CAir does not appear to reach upper level)also, (there are 2 heating vents one is on the wall does not appear to be working? one on the floor in corner of bedroom which works.) I need some major help and advice. Is the prior owner liable? I brought the house as is in the contract. They did not disclose any foundation problems. My old nfriend does not talk to me anymore which leads me to belive that he knew of the problems and must have gottern a bonus for selling me this headache of a house! ANYONE PLEASE GIVE ME SOME ADVICE DIRECTION ON WHAT TO DO! desparte in wisconsin for help!

Check or what is commonly known as faulty grade Faulty Grade is where the grade of your soil is higher than the foundation of our Garage and if this happening water will permiate in or seep in,lower the soil below the foundation and look into installing drainage piping abs plastic which is back cover it with weed suppresent barrier a black like cloth purchasable at any hoe center and most importantly WATER SEAL the exterior of the wall as for the unlevelnes of the floor u can usee a elf leveling compound buyable at any hoe center and raise the foundation from the inside that means exposing the interior wall and poor concete between all the studs be sure to nail a piece of 1×6 to the wall studs so concrete does not pour out as for a chain wall i don’t know look on the web for chain wall descriptins and purposes hope this helps

Good day. We bought a house in 2002. The realtor we bought the house from works for Ebby Holiday. The house has foundation problems estimated at $20k, for a complete repair. I am very sure the realtor knew about the house having foundation problems back when we bought it but did not disclose the problem to us. Can anyone tell me what are my legal rights after living in the house for six years. Second, can anyone tell me an estimated loss figure I will suffer if we sell the house with foundation problems? The market area goes for $120k, the debt is some $69k, and the estimated foundation repair is some $20k. I will really, really, appreciate a sincere answer please.

My utility room used to be a garage. At some point it was closed in. The floor of the utility room is the original slab from the old garage. The floor is not even and where the concrete slab intersects the wall (there are no baseboards), water permeates through that part of the wall when it rains. I had a general contractor assess and he thinks a chain wall needs to be added and the foundation built up. But I don’t understand what a chain wall is. Could you explain?

I bought my house about 2 years ago. I went into the unfinshed part of the basement about 3 months ago and there are cracks all along the wall. In one place of the wall I can see the sunlight outside. Water was getting in part of the basement but not from the cracks. Before we baught the house and a company came out and put a draining system to the current drain. No water gets in but I want to build a deck. I had a guy tell me to have someone come out and look at it. How do I know that the contractor does not make it sound worse than it is? All of the cracks are on the seam of the blocks except for one. I was told that if the block is cracked in the middle it is because of stress and I should be worried about it. What do I do?

Samantha,
Without a doubt, your offer should be substantially reduced due to the foundation damage, but make sure your offer is contingent on an inspection, and have an inspector or engineer examine the problems throughly before going ahead. It would also be a good idea to get several estimates on repairing the damage before signing off on the house. Structural foundation problems can be very costly to repair, and might not even be fixable.

I am looking into buy buying a foreclosure. It is a nice brick home in a nice community, the problem is that it has major foundation issues. There is a crack about two feet at the corner of a bedroom in the cement floor. The brick fireplace has a crack that actually broke through the brick instead of following the morter(?) lines. Also, about a foot off the bottom of the house on the outside brick is a crack that runs from the patio door to the end of the house! Because it is a foreclosure and has been on the market a long time, not to mention the extensibe problems with the foundation, I was wondering if I my offer could refect those things. Mainly I’m wondering if the foundation damage would allow me to ask $70,000 off the asking price due to labor and cost to fix the damages? ( I would not be buying a house with problems if it wasnt such a nice house in the best neighborhood….big return later)…Advice please!!!

My house is around 13 years old, 2 story, brick and hardiplank. It appears that I have some separtion in the brick where it was put together on the outside and also noticed hairline cracks from the inside of my gargage running about halfway into my kitchen. What can I do about this and does it sound like it will be an expensive job?

I have a house with foundation problems like cracks in the walls doors wont lock things like that. My question is i want to put a nice tile in my kitchen will this crack the tiles if the house shifts or even could i use like the snap together laminate flooring or should i be safe and go with the lanolium right now i have the stick on type they are just not very apealing please help?

My husband and i are about to buy a house that is 4 years old. We had the inspection done yesterday and the guy found that it has already had foundation work done recently. He says it may have had something to do with the way the windows were put in but we would have to get a structural engineer to look at it. Since it has had work do you think we should get it looked at again or just not buy it at all? We do not know if we want to take the risk of something happening down the road. What do we do?

Our house is about 100 or so years old, and was re-stumped by its previous owner about 15 years ago, and is heritage listed.
We have cracks throughout our ceiling, which are replicated in the same spot upstairs, and directly beneath these cracks are even larger gaps between the floorboards. Our dining room is elevated in its centre and slops in a downwards direction towards the kick boards, and the wood paneling on the wall no longer sits probably against the existing plaster board.
Some of our floorboards actually bend when they are stood on, and barley any of our windows or doors open or close without having to really push them.
The tiles in our kitchen and bathroom have began to lift off the walls, due to the new cement sheeting cracking, and our kitchen bench no longer sits correctly and seems to be leaning. We have also experienced some major leaks, caused by the actual tiles moving on the roof, and have had large amounts of water going down the walls directly under the house.
We have received two quotes, and have been told that we need to rip up the majority of the floorboards in the back part of the house, due to the joists needing to be replaced and that it will cost around $20,000. Is this quote too much, and do we actually need to rip up our floorboards?

We bought our home year and half ago. No major problems noted in the inspection. Since that time we noticed major creaking of the floors on all 3 levels that has progressively gotten worse. Now you can’t step anywhere without loud creaks/groans. Also we have noticed horizontal cracks, especially around door frames and doors are not shutting properly. It seems to be getting worse. House is 25 years old. Who to call? We are nervous that someone will come and diagnose a major problem just to get the contract to fix it. Do we get multiple estimates? Thanks.

Foundation.. I would consider it a major problem. If the foundation is not correct it can not support the rest of the house. I would fix it while it was minor ..just my opinion after going through it with a house we bought at auction and wish we had inspected better:) It may not be expensive now..theres no way to know unless a pro looks but I DO know its better taken care of sooner than later. And if you are aware of the problem and sell the house without telling the buyer you will be held liable. You dont want that hassle. Just my opinion.

I live in a home that is 12 years old. The builder is one of the local high-volume builders. When I ripped out the carpet to put down hard wood, I noticed that there was a raised spot on the floor that the builder did not grind down. As it turns out, there is a pvc pipe that wasn’t cut down enough (maybe they were going to put an outlet?) and the concrete is piled up to the height of the pipe. Over time, that has led to a small crack in the concrete that extends to the porch outside. Otherwise, I have had no problems with the house. On the face of it, is this a major problem?

I have a 50+ year old house with concrete slab foundation. My problems are diagonal cracks (window areas)in the cinder block walls. They are showing up in the inside walls and attic area. I have exterior siding. How do you suppose I address these cracks?

Kim do you currently have a sump pump installed? Does water collect in the basement ever? From the little info you’ve given me I would opt for number one, it depends why the water is coming in tho. Make sure to again check all the references for THIS type of work, get a written estimate and certificates of ins. Make sure he doesn’t make the problem worse by directing the water to an area where it hits your neighbors property and gives them problems or reroutes to a different part of your foundation. I have this same issue going on myself and when it floods it is not fun especially if your lower level is finished ( mine was..its now being remodelled) I can’t stress enough the importance of checking references for THIS TYPE of work, no matter how long this person has been working in the business..just because he is a contractor and is good at building things doesnt mean he is an expert at all things. So cover yourself.

Stacy, any professional company is going to cost you alot of money but you want to make sure to check references, even if they say they have been in business for years, make sure they have done the type of work you are looking to have done. Get several estimates, check all the references, and when you decide on a contractor make sure he is licensed and insured. Make sure the estimate is in writing and he gives you a copy of his certificate of insurance. Any reputable contractor will have no problem giving you these things for that type of work. Debbie, I don’t understand your question? You want to build apartments on the same land that you’ve built your house on, but your having problems with the house? Are you asking what can be done to the land so that you wont have problems with the building of apartments? If so, again, a contractor is the one to contact. You will have to have permits and such and a good contractor would know what would have to be done in your case.

I have cracks in my basement wall no water is coming in. There is white powder at the base of the cinder block. Ive had three contracters in and have had 3 different ways to fix the problem. Im not sure which one I should do. 1. is dig out side and tar and put new drainage in. 2. dig inside putting new drain in floor to sump pump.3. insde dig and put pillers in floor to rise house on one corner this is the most costly. Help

i own a piece of land and the ground is soft ground were i build my home i have foundation problem and loking for someone to fix it but i have more ground and want to built some appartments is there a way i can built on the land those appartments so i wouldnt have any problem later

I live in a house that is built off the ground and is over 100 years. There is about 15 brick pillars under the house and some are crumbling. I know that I need foundation work. Where can I find a good company to do this that doesn’t cost 2 arms and 2 legs :)?

Paula,
Minor flaws in sheetrock are common, especially if the house was attached with nails rather than screws as is now the custom. Nail pops and slight cracks at joints above doors and windows from seasonal movement of the wood framing are two of the most often noticed defects, and should be repaired before you repaint. Larger problems, such as you described, could be the result of improper sheetrock installation, excessive moisture in the wall, or settling of the foundation. A moisture meter can be used to see if the wall in question varies significantly from other areas of the house. If it does, check your roof and siding and repair any leaks.

3 corners in a bedroom that are exterior walls are showing the following:
1- drywall tape bubbles
2- vertical cracks appearing from floor to ceiling
The one corner in the room that is an interior corner shows no signs of damage at all. I am thinking this is foundation problems, but the cracks are straight, the doors close, there are no diagonal cracks around the windows or doors. What do you think?
Paula

Wilfred, how wide are the cracks? Are there cracks on the inside walls? Any cracks at the pantry door? It may not be structural at all. Could be simply some natural settlement. Let me know the answers to those questions.

Thanks for the info.
I just realized that there is a zig-zag crack in the bricks in front of my home. Also the pantry door does not close. How do i begin the process of looking at the foundation. Do i invite an engineer first to look at it or should i just contact a foundation repair expert.
Please advise.

I’m with you. I did the same thing and have the same problem x four beams. Forget about piers, not the problem. Research humidity problems, improper venting and moisture problems causing dryrot. Beams crumble then collapse, caused by moisture, mostly drain problems from your own plumbing. Get an old time pier and beam man, familiar with chain wall construction. Sorry, not only will beams have to go, but wet problem must also be fixed. Good Luck keep in touch. alex721@sbcglobal.net

MY HOUSE I JUST PURCHASED IS ABOUT 50 YEARS OLD. THE FLOOR JOIST ARE 2X6″ BEAMS 24″ ON CENTER. MOST OF THE CROSS BEAMS HAVE DROPPED, AND MY FLOORS BOUNCE WHEN I WALK AROUND THE HOUSE. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO. CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE ME SOME ADVICE.

I moved into a brand new home. It’s less than a year old and in its basement the load bearing walls some have a hairline crack. The walls consist of walled sections. The concrete walled sections that the load-bearing steel beam the upper level of the house rest on the cracks are more pronounce which extend from the top where the steel beam rest and protrude downward approximately the length of the wall. Is the normal with settling of the house or something that need to be evaluated by a professional?

We want to hear from you! In addition to posting comments on articles and videos, you can also send your comments and questions to us on our contact page or at (800) 946-4420. While we can't answer them all, we may use your question on our Today's Homeowner radio or TV show, or online at todayshomeowner.com.

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

Foundation Problems

Tips for Today's Homeowner

Sign up for Danny's Monthly Newsletter and stay up to date on tips and tricks for the home.